Dress-Up Story Time: Happy Halloween!
Saturday, October 29th at 3:00pm

Spooky (but not too spooky) stories and craft activities for Halloween. Costumes very welcome–for kids and parents!

Suggested for ages 3 to 8, but all ages welcome. Free.

You may know Peter for his 2009 book The Curious Garden, which was featured on the cover of last year’s ABC Best Books for Children catalog.

The Curious Garden, as well as his next book, 2010’s Children Make Terrible Pets, have steadily been among the bestselling picture books at Spellbound for the last couple of years.

You Will Be My Friend! is Peter’s brand new book. It is a follow-up to Children Make Terrible Pets, featuring the irrepressible bear Lucy searching for a new friend. Take a look at this video clip, in which Lucy interviews her creator Peter Brown.

Lucy Interviews Peter Brown

Many of you may have copies of Peter’s books at home that you have purchased at Spellbound or elsewhere. Please bear in mind, however, that a book signing without sales does not encourage publishers to send other popular authors to that store again.

For that reason, you are welcome to bring a book from home to be signed IF you also purchase one or more of his books at the event. Please help us to bring more popular authors to our store by making their appearances worth the time and expense. All of Peter’s books make wonderful gifts, and one that is signed will be extra special!

April droplets bring rhyming couplets…

April is National Poetry Month, and at Spellbound all poetry books will be 25% off for the entire month!

We’re kicking off our poetry celebration on Saturday, April 2nd with a lulu of a reading by local poet Jethro Clayton Waters (there may be handstands involved), in addition to free activities and give-aways (plus snacks).

1 to 3pm – all ages – free

South of Ordinary is a young reader’s book of poetry, prose, and pen and ink illustrations by Asheville author Jethro Clayton Waters.

Join us for a special dress-up story time with Cindy Bowen, author of Spellbound favorite Playing with Gaia.

Play with the ever-present energy of life in Mother Earth–play with Gaia! This is not yoga, dance or tai chi; it is an awakening and discovery of playfulness and inner freedom. Open a new doorway with yourself or the children in your life. Together you can heal wounds, dissolve boundaries, create deep inner bonds and bring new creativity and awareness into your world. Be independently joyful. Expand your awareness of beauty, support and love found in nature. Connect with Mother Earth–play with Gaia!

Keith Flynn of Asheville Poetry Review says this books “strikes just the right balance between play and burgeoning purpose. The story clearly illustrates how we are all joined in this world together; each particle has its place in the puzzle and Bowen’s little adventurous heroine, Chloe, finds that she is Gaia, and Gaia is a part of her and everything she encounters.”

Come to the story dressed as something you love in nature–a tree, an animal, a cloud… wherever your imagination takes you! Cindy will lead us in creative movement to replicate movement in the natural world.

Free. All ages welcome!

Book signing to follow.

You may reserve a signed copy of the book by calling us at 828-232-2228 or by ordering online (below). $19.95

Ravenna is a book about a boy and the bear he falls in love with. It’s a story of love, freedom, friendship, and the lessons we can learn from nature.

With a timeless Appalachian setting, Ravenna becomes a parable in which a boy must turn to nature to find an answer that will give him what he wants most in the world. But in the end, his greatest challenge is living by what he has learned. This simple story with its haunting, iconic illustrations can provide joy and inspiration to anyone at any stage of life.

The author, Stacey Curnow, is hosting a party in honor of this new book at Spellbound on Saturday, November 6th at 3:00pm. This event is free and all ages are welcome!

The party will feature:

• Drama/improv by Chris Martin’s Curtain Call Collective
• Temporary tattoos
• Arts and crafts
• “Bear claw” cupcakes
• Giveaways!

You may reserve a copy by clicking on the Buy button below. If you would like a copy signed and held for you or shipped to you, indicate this on the order form. $12.95

Stacey will donate 10% of royalties from Ravenna to Heifer International, an organization whose goal is to end world poverty through sustainability.

Whether you went trick-or-treating the night before or are just about to head out, spend part of the afternoon on Halloween at Spellbound and enjoy some spooky (and some not-so-spooky) stories and activities to celebrate the season!

Costumes encouraged! (For parents, too!)

Suggested ages 3 and up. Free.

It’s that time of year–the Mountain State Fair is coming! Join us for stories about going to the fair, plus free activities. Perfect for pre-readers and early readers. At the story time, get a game card with sights to find at the Mountain State Fair (which runs Sept 10-19).

Bring your completed cards back to Spellbound when the fair is over (by Saturday, September 25th) and we’ll draw two completed game cards. The kids who completed them get signed copies of Fabulous Fair Alphabet by Debra Frasier! Suggested for ages 3 to 7 years. Free to enter.

Alphabet letters of all sorts of shapes and sizes and styles–from blinking neon ones, to unusual old-style graphic ones to rustic hand-painted ones have been photographed and collaged together into an exuberant, eye-popping, letter-and-word-finding tour of the glories of the state fair. Bursting with with bright, bold illustrations of favorite fair elements like dill pickles and Ferris wheels and midway games, here is an alphabet-exploring adventure like no other!

There are two great new books about ladybugs that we just love, so what better better way to show them off than a special story time all about our favorite spotted insect friend? We’ll make ladybug antennae and wings to wear while we listen to the stories and enjoy other fun, creative activities. Free. Suggested for ages 3 to 8. Limited to ten kids. Please call, email, or come by to reserve a space ahead of time.

Brand New Ladybug Girl adventure: Ladybug Girl at the Beach, by David Soman and Jacky Davis. Lulu loves the beach. Well, she’s never been there before, but she knows she will love it. And then she sees the ocean and it is big and loud and rough. That’s okay-Lulu wanted to build sand castles and fly her kite with Bingo anyway. But while they are building their sand castle, the sneaky ocean comes in and tries to steal Lulu’s favorite pail. This is a job for Ladybug Girl!

What the Ladybug Heard, by Julia Donaldson, illustrated by Lydia Monks. Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len have a cunning plan: they’ll sneak past all the animals and steal the farmer’s fine prize cow. But they forget all about the tiniest, quietest creature on the farm-the ladybug. She has a plan of her own.

Julia Donaldson (author of  The Gruffalo, Room on the Broom, and many other favorites) turns her literary expertise to a farm setting, and comes up with a rollicking barnyard mystery. Lydia Monks’ colorful collage illustrations go perfectly with the story for a winning combination. Readers will quack, neigh, moo, and cheer for the ladybug all the way through!

EVERYTHING TALKS: You Just Have to Know How to Listen is a colorful picture book celebrating the sounds of the world around us … everything from shells to birds, wind to rocks, volcanos and more.

If you would like a copy of this book signed by the illustrator, Alice io Oglesby, you may call us or use the order button below. Be sure to mention that you want a signed copy. If you want it inscribed personally to someone (as opposed to just the illustrator’s signature), it may take a little longer to ship or be ready for pick up.

$11.99
Recommended for ages 2 to 6

Author Joseph D’Agnese will be reading and signing Blockhead at Spellbound on Saturday, April 10th at 3:00. If you can’t make it to the event, you can still order signed copies by calling us at 828-232-2228 or clicking below. There will also be a fun, free presentation illustrating Fibonacci’s work predicting patterns in nature. Great for elementary age students (and teachers)!

Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci
by Joseph D’Agnese, ill by John O’Brien,Jr.
suggested for ages 6 to 9
$16.99
Available March 30 2010

Pre-order here:

As a young boy in medieval Italy, Leonardo Fibonacci thought about numbers day and night. He was such a daydreamer that people called him a blockhead. When Leonardo grew up, he realized that many things in nature, from the number of petals on a flower to the spiral of a nautilus shell, seem to follow a certain pattern. He had discovered what came to be known as the Fibonacci sequence!

“D’Agnese’s introduction to medieval Europe’s greatest mathematician offers both a coherent biographical account—spun, with some invented details, from very sketchy historical records—and the clearest explanation to date for younger readers of the numerical sequence that is found throughout nature and still bears his name.”—Booklist